Ten Pitfalls in Intensive Care

This book aims to track a typical patient's stay in the intensive care unit and highlight some of the pitfalls that may occur along the way. Each pitfall starts with either the clinical scenario or a related question. It then identifies the Pitfall. This pitfall will be looked at from two perspectives, physiological plausibility and evidence. Some of these observations will be evidence based, some will be physiologically plausible, and others will be experience based. Outcome based EBM in Critical care has come of age in the last 5-10 years. This book extensively cites and interprets large critical care RCTs focusing on those from the last 5-8 years. The authors work in different setups in India and the UK and hope that this will highlight different medical and socio-cultural practices when dealing with critically ill patients. This book covers clinical scenarios and identifies practical lapses that creep into patient management. We hope this book appeals to all personnel who care for patients in ICUs and also for anyone trying to figure out the answers as to how to best improve outcomes for our ICU patients.